China comfortably beat Bhutan 6-0 in the 2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) under-17 (U17) Asian Cup qualifier game in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, on Wednesday, securing their second straight win at the tournament.
China had a slow start in the game as they scored their first goal in the 34th minute when Wei Xiangxin headed a cross by Zhang Chengrui into the far corner of the goal.
In response to Bhutan’s solid defense, China’s coach Kenichi Uemura sent Li Xiang and Li Qitao to the field to speed up offensively. Less than one minute into the second half, Wei earned China a penalty kick. Though Hebibilla Nurhaji’s shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, he converted the second attempt and extended the hosts’ lead to 2-0.
Two minutes, later, Li Xiang scored China’s third goal assisted by Wei as China continued to create opportunities to score as the game went on. Hebibilla netted for the second time in the 60th minute, and during stoppage time, Yang Qiandong and Li added two more goals for their side to seal a decisive win.
Having pocketed two consecutive wins in Group C, China sit in second place behind South Korea on goal difference. They will play Maldives next in Dalian on Friday.
South Korea have already beaten Maldives 13-0. Both Kim Ji-sung and Park Byeong-chan scored hat-tricks in the game. They will face Bahrain next before playing China on Sunday.